Schroon Lake at the water's northern tip, that US 9 intersects NY 74, like NY 254 and NY 149 fresh off its western terminus at the Northway. Signs at this junction use Ticonderoga, to the east, as a control city, an indication of how sparsely populated the park is. US 9 remains close to the interstate for the next into the town of North Hudson, where Boreas Road provides access to the Dix Mountain Wilderness Area the southernmost in the Adirondack High Peaks region. The highway again crosses the interstate to connect I-87 to the western terminus of NY 73, the well-traveled scenic route to Keene Valley and Lake Placid. At this ornate junction, US 9 is at 1,155 feet (340 m) above sea level, the highest elevation it reaches along its entire length. The right turn takes it again to the northeast past Rocky Peak Ridge and the Giant Mountain Wilderness Area, to the hamlet of New Russia. This stretch brings the highway to Elizabethtown, the unincorporated county seat and the first settlement US 9 has passed through since Warrensburg. NY 9N comes through town from the west; it and US 9 briefly overlap. While the land remains mostly forested as the road continues its northeast course from Elizabethtown, it begins to descend somewhat as the valley of Lake Champlain draws near. US 9 eventually draws close to the Northway again at Poke-O-Moonshine Mountain, the Adirondacks' most popular climbing spot. In Chesterfield, without a major highway junction are ended when NY 22 joins US 9 after its exit, the first pairing of two highways that begin their journey upstate in New York City. The two routes enter Keeseville, where in mid-village they cross the Ausable River and enter Clinton County. NY 9N reappears here, reaching its northern terminus. North of the village, the two routes split again and exchange the roles they had been playing for their entire northward journey. US 9 takes the eastward fork to the lake, running close to the state's edge; while 22 will run inland from here to the border. After Keeseville, US 9 follows AuSable Chasm down to the lake shore. It crosses the Ausable and briefly re-enters Essex County long enough for the short NY 373 to provide access to the Burlington–Port Kent Ferry. A third and final crossing takes it out of the Adirondack Park. Lake Champlain, Plattsburgh and Canada After